The present invention generally relates to hat accessories, and more specifically relates to a hat accessory that can be removably attached to the central button found on conventional hats/caps.
It is well understood that many people wear hats. Sometimes, persons attach objects to their hats in order to make them more visually appealing, for displaying promotions, for comedic effect, and for a variety of other reasons. Many hats, especially baseball-style caps, typically include a central button at its apex, and this button provides a convenient means of attaching various accessories to the hat.
Multiple products have been designed to be attached to the button on top of a hat/cap. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 5,530,970 to Knutson discloses a display object attached to a spring, and by rotating and pushing the spring on the hat button, one or more of the spring coils advances past the button and returns to its original diameter underneath the button. As such, interference between the button and the bottom coils of the spring secures the Knutson device to the hat.
Also, U.S. Pat. No. 5,070,546 to Stazo discloses a device with a thin-walled bottom member that includes a hole with slits or slots radially extending therefrom. The slits or slots allow the portion of the bottom member surrounding the hole to deform when pushing the button into the hole. Such deformation allows the button to advance past the bottom member, and the bottom member returns to its original shape. Thus, interference between the bottom member and the button secure the Stazo device to the hat. As such, both the Knutson and Stazo patents disclose objects that can be removably attached to the button of a hat/cap due to interference between the button and the patented device itself.
However, since the Knutson and Stazo devices both include members that locally flex in order to achieve an interference fit, repeated attachment and removal (i.e., repeated flexure) can eventually lead to failure of the devices. For instance, since the same spring coils of the Knutson device must cyclically flex during attachment and removal, repeatedly attaching and removing the device can cause the coils to permanently deform to an extent that the unloaded diameter of the coils is larger than the diameter of the button. Likewise, repeated attachment and removal of the Stazo device can eventually fracture the portion of the bottom member surrounding the hole. In both cases, a secure interference fit between the respective device and the button can no longer be achieved.
Therefore, there exists a substantial need in the art for a hat/cap accessory that can be easily and repeatedly attached and removed to the central button of the cap simply attaching mechanism.